Memories
by PeachTart
Summary: Sherlock Holmes is proud to be a Beta in a society that discriminates against Betas. Alphas are worshipped for their strength, aggression and intellect (a pure myth in Sherlock's opinion) and Omegas for their fertility. Betas? The kindest term to describe them is Worker Bee, a sly reference to their place in society. This is an omegaverse universe story. Pairing SH/JW.
1. Chapter 1

_There are those defining moments that either make you who you are, or show you who you are._

Unknown quote

Mycroft Homes never forgot the defining moment that contributed to making him the man he is today. It was the day he watched his elder brother, Sherrinford Holmes, leaving the Holmes ancestral manor, disowned and banished in disgrace abroad by their Father, never allowed to set foot in England again.

Politicians come and go in the western world. The real power in any western country was not elected political party the voters had chosen. In the United Kingdom, the real masters of the country were collectively known as the Elites. The true identities of the Elites were never known to the general public. The unassuming civil servant occupying some obscure minor position in the British government which no one would give a second glance, could actually be the actual master behind the elected Minister they allegedly served. Almost all the Elites were from the Noble Families, regarded as a quaint and antiquated curiosity from the past where Kings and Queen actually had true power to rule the country centuries ago. As for the titles held by the various members of the Noble Families? Something to impress the foreigners, especially the Americans.

Mycroft preferred to be known as Mr Holmes rather than Lord Holmes although he had inherited the title upon his Father's death. At the tender age of 22, he had taken on his Father's position, protecting the traditional Holmes power base as the sharks surrounded him, eager to take a nip at the pie, seeing an opportunity to expand their power base. It took him 5 years before he took control of the Omega Protection Association and became the true puppet master behind the elected Chairman of the Omega Protection Association. It took him another 5 years and the annihilation of three Noble Family Heads (one plane crash, one of 'natural causes' and one suicide) to emerge victorious and became THE British government.

His Mother was the second Lady Holmes. The first Lady Holmes had died of heart attack at the tender age of thirty, a tragic early end of an Omega with a family history of heart ailments, leaving behind a 10 year old son, Sherrinford Holmes. This match with Father is an alliance between two Noble families. It was not a love match but a match based on power and genetic compatibility. From all accounts, she seemed to be a gentle and fragile Omega, contented in her role as a homemaker.

There have been whispers that the lady died of a broken heart. Sherrinford Holmes was an Alpha but the blood test revealed that he has only 69% in the Alpha Purity Index. It was illegal to discriminate based on gender and upon widespread protests in the streets, the law had deemed that prospective employers cannot demand the potential Alpha job candidates to reveal their Alpha Purity Index score. It was a widely spread belief, backed up with Alpha Supremacy Group's 'scientific findings' that the higher an Alpha Purity Index score, the more intelligent and powerful the Alpha. The Alphas in the Noble Families typically ranged between 70% and 85%. Mycroft's Alpha Purity Index score was a staggering 91%, which was a source of pride for his Father. Mycroft had to admit that his high Alpha Purity Index score had helped in impressing his potential allies and intimidated his enemies, especially in the early days where he struggled to protect and expand the Holmes power base.

Mycroft Holmes was not a scientist but he had studied enough to conclude that the Alpha Purity Index Score was not a measurement of intelligence or strength. Several Alpha Supremacy groups, secretly backed by several Noble Families, had lobbied for special concessions into letting the Alphas with a High Purity Index score to have priority and first rights in getting an Omega mate. Mycroft had ensured that Omega Protection Association would not bow to the pressure from the Alpha Supremacy groups in matching the Omegas in the Omega Register with the Alpha applicants. In the end, the consent of the Omega would be the deciding factor in any Alpha/Omega match and not any based on genetic compatibility or Alpha Purity Index score. The Noble Families had a vested interest in perpetuating the myth of superiority in high Alpha Purity Index score. While they would not opening espoused the superiority of high Alpha Purity Index score, many had funded the Alpha Supremacy groups. The Noble Families had breeded almost exclusively with Alphas and Omegas over generations. As a result, the average score of the Alpha Purity Index score would be much higher than the general population. And the final piece of evidence for Mycroft in the fallacy of the superiority in high Alpha Purity Index score? His elder brother, Sherrinford Holmes. Mycroft had rubbed it in to Sherlock that he was 'the smart one' of the Holmes brothers but he was truthful enough to admit that his elder brother, Sherrinford Holmes, was as intelligent, if not more intelligent than Mycroft although he scored only 69% in the Alpha Purity Index (which was still 15% higher than the general Alpha population).

Ever since Mycroft became THE British government, he had taken the threat of the Alpha Supremacy groups seriously. While some had seen their rants of superiority as harmless, Mycroft knew that if not kept in check, the extremist elements in the Alpha Supremacy groups could reared its ugly head as seen in the Omega Persecution War in 1939. It started with the gradual erosion of Omega rights in Germany such as mandatory bonding for Omegas three months within their first heat. More and more stringent rules were then introduced such as forbidding relations and marriages between Omegas and Betas. By December 1939, the facade of an egalitarian civilized world was torn off. Germany rounded up the entire Omega population and placed them in breeding camps where Omegas were forced to mate and breed repeatedly with different Alphas. Omegas who managed to escape from the breeding camps had painted a picture of hell on earth where the Omegas were injected with experimental serum so that the Omegas would be in heat continuously. Omegas were forced to mate with up to ten Alphas every day until he or she was impregnated. The madness in Germany started to spread across the world rapidly where Omegas were seen as resources and not humans. Smaller nations like Japan in the Far East even invaded China and started to massacre entire cities of alphas and betas while rounding up the Omegas to be placed in the breeding camps in the occupied territories. It took the combine power of Britain and their Allied countries six years to end the Omega Persecution War in 1945.

Many had seen Mycroft's move in controlling the Omega Protection Association as a means to consolidate and strengthen his power base as control over the Omega population meant that he had at hand to 'reward' his allies with unlimited access to Omegas, an irresistible and almost impossible reward to reject. The truth is that at the bottom of his heart, he has a true desire to protect the Omega population where Omegas were seen as baby making machines and property of their Alphas. Despite the fact that there were laws which gave Omega rights to choose their own mates, there were ways to 'persuade' an unwilling Omega to bond with an Alpha not of their own choice. The simplest way was to lock the Omega in the throes of heat with an Alpha. Omegas, especially within the first two years after their first presentation, had little self-control over their biological instincts during their 3 monthly heats. It was tempting for a family with an Omega to choose an Alpha who could offer the highest dowry to bond with the Omega. An unbounded Omega could change the fortunes of an impoverished family. Mycroft was not omnipotent but he had ensured that Omega Protection Association would watch over the welfare of the Omega population and kept the worst abuses in check.

Mycroft was ruthless in his quick ascension of power, his hands stained with blood. While he had never killed anyone with his own hands, he had given orders which led to the death of several people, several inconvenient who stood in his path for power. Mycroft had never regretted and had not lose any sleep over his actions which directly or indirectly led to the death of people, several of them innocent collaterals who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had to be ruthless. For the Noble Families, a loss of power could potentially mean the death of all the Alphas in the family (either through assassinations or unfortunate accidents) and the distribution of all the Omegas in the losing families to the victors as breeders through forced bonding.

His Mother, the second Lady Holmes, was one of the war trophies after a particular vicious power struggle which her family lost for supporting the wrong side. His Father found himself given a 14 year old Omega as his bride. A frightened child, who had been pampered all her life, married to a man old enough to be her father. Lord Siger Holmes was a power-hungry man. His thirst for power could be stemmed back to 700 years ago where the Holmes family suffered a defeat with the betrayal of a trusted ally. The Holmes line was almost annihilated with the Alphas killed and the Omegas given to the rival families as breeders. The Betas in the Holmes family were stripped of lands, properties and money and were left as destitute. The Betas in the Holmes family had proved their worth and through careful plotting over hundreds of years, revived the fortunes of the Holmes family. The Holmes Family was the only Noble Family to treat the Betas as equals, having equal rights in inheritance as it has proven that Betas with their calm and logical minds plotting the revival of the Holmes line, were as good as the Alphas. The painful history of the fall and the subsequent revival of the Holmes family was a constant reminder to every successive Head of the Holmes Family that the power and wealth accumulated by several generations of Holmes could be lost in the blink of an eye. The Holmes Family was fortunate. Several Noble Families who suffered defeats never recovered, their name forever lost, their proud history forgotten, fortunes given to their enemies and their Omegas distributed among the victors.

Lord Siger Holmes was appalled that he was given a 14 year old child as his second wife. Most of the Omegas would only be presented and go into their first heat when they turned 18. Violet Colangelo has come into her first heat when she turned 13. In olden days, the Colengelo family would have easily gained a kingdom just by offering her hand in marriage as it was believed that the earlier an Omega comes into his or her heat, the more fertile the Omega would be. To Lord Siger Holmes's disgust, the myth linking the first heat of the Omega to the age has persisted to this day. Even modern laws allow the bonding of underage Omegas as long as Omegas had their first heat. Even though most countries, including United Kingdom, had proclaimed egalitarian rights for all irrespective of gender, modern laws still stuck to the archaic thinking of 'old enough to go into heat, old enough to breed' even when the Omega in question was still a child.

It was with great reluctance that Lord Siger Holmes had taken his child bride to the marriage bed as a rejection of a bonding with his child bride would be perceived as a weakness for his enemies. Mycroft Holmes was born one year later after the marriage. As far as possible within the norms of the society, Siger Holmes had shown kindness to his child bride, who was only 4 years older than his eldest son. He had indulged her whims for clothes, jewellery and any material things she desired. He had even allowed the Betas of her remaining family to retain their properties and businesses although it was within his rights to take all. It might take decades or even centuries, but the Colengelo family had every opportunity to revive their position as one of the Noble Families. After all the Holmes family did recover their seat of power and they were in an even dire position when they first lost power centuries ago, leaving the family destitute and scattered throughout Europe.

Father and Mother had a tacit agreement. Father would allow Mother every entitlement accorded to Lady Holmes and even freedom to travel overseas alone if she desired (under heavy protection, of course), a freedom not normally given to an Omega from the Noble Families. In return, Mother would perform the public role expected that of Lady Holmes, by the side of the Lord Holmes in public events and private parties. There was no love between the couple. Each had their own lovers although Mother has promised, upon the death of the remaining Colangelo family that no love child would be born out of wedlock.

His Mother was still a young child when Mycroft was born. She had no maternal instincts and did not want to deal with a crying baby, leaving Mycroft to a succession of well trained nannies to take care of Mycroft. He never had the traditional bond between an Omega Mother and child. While his Mother was casually affectionate, petting his head when he is in front of her, she had not taken any additional interests in him as long as he was quiet and kept out of the way. There was little interaction between the mother and child. When they were forced to spend time together, there was complete and total awkward silence, save for the few meagre attempts on his Mother's part and meagre ones to keep it going on his part until Mother finally dismissed him with a kiss. As he was older, he perfected the mask of blank attentiveness as his Mother started to use him as a sounding board and talked of parties and the latest society scandals. This was where he started his political training and perfected the mask of attentiveness. He was thankful of the skill his Mother taught him as he dealt with tedious politicians puffed with their self-perceived importance, enabling him to put up a pleasantly attentive and slightly flattering mask for the speaker while his mind plotted their downfalls.

While Mycroft found the company of his Mother tedious, he adored the time he spent with his Father. His Father would spend time alone with him, teaching him the Holmes Family history and politics, teachings that he found intellectually engaging and exciting. It was through his Father's teachings that he developed an interest and the thirst to be an Elite, to be one of the puppet masters of the country.

If Mycroft adored his Father, he idolized his elder brother, Sherrinford. He could never quite understand why Father was so cold and formal with his elder brother and he was upset with the malicious whispers that Father would cast aside Sherrinford as the heir as his Alpha Purity Index Score was low for a member of the Noble Family. Despite the lack of warm relations between Father and the elder son, Mycroft got along well with his elder brother. Sherrinford ensured that he kept an eye on his younger brother's studies and upon his first day in school, had sent out warnings that there would be dire consequences if Mycroft was bullied. In short, he was the perfect elder brother. Mycroft on the other hand, was the perfect younger brother, listening (but not following) to the advice given by an older brother in all areas of life including the right type of friends to make, the correct type of clothes to wear and even the amount of food one should eat per day to maintain a perfect physical figure (which Mycroft never listened to this day even though it was perfectly apt advice).

Sherrinford was a very charming man, always surrounded a group of fawning admirers. Appearance wise, he was very different from Mycroft, who as a child, was plump with dark hair. Sherrinford, on the other hand, is the image of a young Apollo with his golden hair and with cheekbones to die for. He was a popular man, winning friends easily and parents who despaired of their own children, whose sole goals in life were to drink to an early and to engage in a promiscuous lifestyle, was held up as a paragon of virtue who should be emulated. However, it was a known fact that Father was not bowled over by Sherrinford's easy charms. The relationship between Father and his eldest son, the future Head of the Holmes family was distance and cold. Some had speculated that Father was sorely disappointed and humiliated over the 69% Alpha Purity Index score. But even so, most cannot comprehend Father's distance with his heir and obvious favouritism with his younger son. Sherrinford, despite his Alpha Purity Index, had one of the keenest and sharpest mind, on par if not surpassing Mycroft's own astonishing intellect prowess. Father had taken a personal interest in Mycroft's upbringing and has bought him to be present during political discussions, a place traditionally reserved for the heir apparent and not the younger son. Political enemies have slyly tried to create resentment between the two brothers but the relationship between the two remained close as two brothers could be.

Sherrinford was seemingly unaware of the whisperings behind his back that Father would be casting him aside as the heir apparent. And from all appearances, it seemed that he would not be overly upset if he was to be cast aside as the heir apparent. Instead, he seemed to have devoted his entire energy in the pursuit of science and is on the way to become one of the top scientists in Omega Biology. To anyone who asked, Sherrinford had shared that he is saddened by his Mother's early tragic death and wanted to dedicate his life in ensuring that the Omega population would not decimated further.

The Omega population has never recovered from the Black Death which decimated the Omega population in the 14th century. One of the reasons for the 1939 Omega Persecution War was over the handling of the Omega population. In the last 150 years, several disturbing trends had emerged. The first ominous sign the declining number of Omega children born. Although the Beta was capable of bearing children, the number of children borne by the Beta couple had dwindled and most Beta couple would be lucky to have one child. And out of the children born out of Beta-Beta couple, the number of Omega children borne dropped from 1 every 10 children to 1 every 1000 children. The next ominous sign was the decline in the female Omega population. For every three female Omega born, only one would survive to adulthood. Many female Omegas have died at childbirth, killing the child they carry as well as their own. The natural lifespan of female Omega had reduced from 67 years to 55 year. This was in stark contrast to the other genders whose lifespan had increased due to leaps in science, medical care and better living conditions. The first published data on the decline of the Omega population had caused an uproar worldwide and doomsday predictions of the beginning of an end for the human race. The male Omega population was so far unaffected by the gradual decline of the female Omega population. However, as scientists were at a loss to understand the reason for the decline of the female Omega population and there were concerns that the male Omega population would suffer a same fate.

The official data on the decline of the Omega population was officially released by the Omega Protection Association in 1898 which led to the finding of several Alpha Supremacy groups. The more extreme and militant groups advocated that the Omega population should be controlled and to breed with as many Alphas as possible to ensure the survival of the human species. Omegas, especially male Omegas, had been targeted by the extremist Alpha Supremacy groups and forced into breeding programs. The majority of the population, however, was outraged by the blatant disregard for the rights of the Omega population. The ending of the Omega Persecution War in 1945 led to the disbandment of several militant Alpha Supremacy groups. However, up to this day, Alpha Supremacy extremism was never fully eradicated although their activities had went underground.

After the Omega Persecution War, great leaps had been made in science which contributed significantly to the Egalitarian Omega Movement which was dedicated to guaranteeing civil, political, economic and social rights for the Omega population. In 1952, Cornelia White, a nineteen year old unbonded Omega, committed suicide after being gang raped by a group of Alphas. Cornelia White had an unexpected heat on her way home after trying out her wedding dress at the Bridal Shop. She was alone without any Alpha family member as her escort met an accident while on the way to fetch her home. She decided to walk home alone, a 15 minute walk from home when she had an unexpected heat. She was dragged off the streets and gang raped by 5 alphas before taken into one of the Alpha's place where she was continually raped throughout her 3 day heat. Despite the fact that it was caught on camera at the street where she had her unexpected heat that upon the realisation of her impending heat, had said no and begged for mercy and that throughout the brutal mating, she kept screaming and begging the rapists to stop. The judge ruled that it was clear from the evidence that her body was clearly receptive of the Alpha's touch, she had given consent even though she begged for mercy. The Alphas were acquitted and walked off scot free from the court. Unable to live with the shame, Cornelia White committed suicide leaving behind her heartbroken fiancée, a childhood sweetheart whom she was to marry in one month's time and her grieving father.

The non-guilty verdict and the tragic suicide of Cornelia White led to a series of street protests in London and started the Omega Liberation Movement which spread to the rest of the world in three months. The Chairman of the UK Omega Protection Association resigned and as the Omega Protection Association had stopped all matchmaking services for Alphas as a sign of protest. After 3 long years, the Cornelia White Act was passed which made it a crime for Alphas to mate with Omegas during involuntary heats. This was a landmark victory for the Omega Liberation Movement as the rest of the world soon follow suit with similar laws to protect Omegas against involuntary heats.

Heat suppressants for Omegas and the Beta serum have been hailed as major discoveries which had given Omegas their freedom from being ruled by their biology and rights to reproduction. The Alphas had their condoms to prevent any unwanted children but the Omegas have nothing to protect against impregnation on their own in the throes of heats. Even in today's civilized society, there were some who would take advantage of Omegas during their heats as their biology dictated them with an uncontrollable overwhelmingly urge to be mated and knotted. While an Omega has on average has a heat once every 3 months, it was not an exact science and Omegas could have an unwanted heat at any point of time. This had curtailed the personal freedom of Omegas as none would have walked the streets alone without an Alpha family member and job opportunities were limited requiring them to work in an all Omega or Beta environment. Mating and knotting with an unbonded Omegas by the Alphas during their heats was not considered a crime even if the Alphas concern are strangers and no implicit consent has been given. As long as the Omega was unbonded, it was considered fair game for any Alpha who was simply obeying their biological instincts to mate triggered by the pheromones released by the Omega during his or her heat.

The discovery of the Omega heat suppressant known as O-Heat was named as one of the most important discovery in the history of Omega. When taken, an Omega's heat cycles would be stopped for up to three years. When taken continuously, an Omega could hold off their heat cycles indefinitely. In the past, Omegas who wished to suppress their heat cycles would have to turn to the black market for illegal heat suppressants which were untested and when taken over a long period of time, would inevitably kill the Omega. O-Heat had been tested rigorously in laboratory conditions and had proven to be safe to Omegas. Professor Andrew White, the inventor of O-Heat was awarded the Nobel Prize (Omega Chemistry) for the landmark discovery. In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize, Professor Andrew White dedicated the award to his daughter, Cornelia White, a poignant reminder and tribute to generations of Omega sufferings, stripped of their basic human rights as a result of their biology.

The 20th century would be remembered as the century which would see the Omega population casting aside their shackles, prisoners of their own biology. The discovery of O-Heat was soon followed by the discovery of the controversial product known as the Beta Serum which would suppress the natural pheromones of the Omega. This meant that an Omega could boldly walks among the crowd with no one any wiser of his or her true gender. The Beta Serum was expensive and effects only lasted for 3 years before the Omega needed another very expensive dose. The Alpha Supremacy groups across the world had called for a complete ban of the product which they considered as 'cheating' as Alphas could no longer seek out their mates through smell. The Omega Interest Groups hailed the product as a breakthrough for all Omegas as the Beta Serum would enable to leave their traditional roles which confined them to bearing children and homemaking. Omegas entered the workforce like never before and it was no longer a rare sight to see an unescorted Omega down the streets alone and confidently. The Beta Interest Groups supported Omega Interest Groups as the Beta Serum would allow them close proximity to the Omegas and an equal footing to courting Omegas. They pointed out that the Omega Association provides matchmaking services only for the Alphas. The Betas is in a vast disadvantage as they have little or no access to Omegas. With the Omegas entering the workforce en masse, wooing an Omega was no longer a dream. The Omega Protection Association had wisely stayed out of the whole debate, refusing to publicly comment on the usage of Beta Serum by the Omegas although they offered a 50% subsidy for the purchase of O-Heat and Beta Serum for all Omegas registered at the Omega Register.

Mycroft was proud that the Holmes Family had supported the Omega Liberal Movement which other Noble Families had seen as a threat for their continued unlimited access and control over the Omega population. Sometimes he had wondered why his Father was so driven to ensure the success of the Omega Liberal Movement. He had all the power in his hand but he had devoted large amount of time in promoting Omega rights to the extent that he gave concessions to his enemies to ensure that certain oppressive Omega laws were removed. It was only when he was older that Mycroft believed that it was a result of his Father's guilt, a slur to his honour for bringing an underage Omega to his marriage bed because the laws allowed him to do so. Yes, he could have rejected the bonding but it would be detriment to the interests of the Holmes family interests so he had bowed to the decision and had taken his Mother to his marriage bed. And as for his elder brother, Sherrinford, he had followed their Father's footsteps in another way. After his graduation, Sherrinford has joined the Cambridge University as an Omega Biologist and from all accounts, he would be the next rising star in the study of Omega Biology and had made great strides in solving the mysteries of the Omega DNA. All in all, Mycroft was proud to be a member of the Holmes family and is sure that he would be following the footsteps of his Father and brother.

Mother became pregnant with Sherlock when he turned 7 years old. His Mother returned suddenly from France after leaving the Holmes ancestral manor for three months and announced that she was pregnant. This was the one of the defining moments that he learnt the important lesson to observe and just not see. There was a strange tension in the manor. His Father had stayed away from the manor, leaving behind Sherrinford and Mycroft to look after his pregnant Mother. His Mother was radiant throughout the pregnancy, although his Father is hardly around her to provide the support for the unborn child. By then, Sherrinford had already graduated from the Cambridge University and had moved back from the student hostel to the Holmes Manor permanently. He could have his pick of choice postings in any of the elite Universities or private research laboratories as an Omega biologist but he had chosen a little known private research laboratory near to the Holmes Manor so that he could commute daily and be home every night. Mycroft would not know how to deal with his hormonal mother whose mate is not around most of the time. Sherrinford had taken the role and have been infinitely patient with Mother, escorting her for the routine check-ups and ensuring that she would have the best maternal care to the extent of monitoring her intake of vitamins.

For the first time, Mycroft was resentful of his Father, his hero. He was sure that his Father's absence has caused Mother to go into a sudden early labour. It was a known fact that the health of the unborn child is dependent on the pheromones of the Father. His Father was hardly around his Mother and the lack of exposure of the pheromones would have taken a toll to the health of both the Omega and the unborn child. Mother went into a sudden labour 2 months before the baby is due in the middle of the night while Father was away. Calmly, Sherrinford organised the panicked servants in the household and called for the ambulance. They boarded the ambulance with Mother and Sherrinford held Mother's hands, murmuring words of comfort during the long ride to the hospital.

Mycroft had fallen asleep in the waiting room and by the time he woke up, the youngest Holmes brother, William Sherlock Scott Holmes, is born. Sherrinford, the responsible brother, has settled all the paper work and even the test results of Sherlock's gender is ready and printed on the birth certificate.

"Wakey, wakey, Microft." Sherrinford said as he gently woke Microft. "We have a new brother. Little William Sherlock Scott Holmes. "

Mycroft grabbed the birth certificate Sherrinford was holding and studied it.

**Name: William Sherlock Scott Holmes**

**Father: Siger Holmes**

**Mother: Violet Colangelo**

**Sex: Male**

"Is Father here? He named our little brother?"

For a moment, a strange expression flickered

Mycroft thought he saw a strange sile on Sherrinford's face.

"No, Father is not here, Mycroft." Sherrinford said. "I named him. Since Father is not interested, I think he hardly deserves to name our little Sherlock."

Mycroft blinked. His mind hardly registered the impact of Sherrinford's words. Sherrinford had always stayed out of Father's way and this was the first time he saw Sherrinford challenging their Father's authority directly.

Confused and not knowing what to say, Mycroft looked down at the birth certificate he held in his hand when his eyes saw the gender on the birth certificate. It was optional whether the baby would go through a gender testing which had a 99.99% accuracy rate at birth. It was against the law to discriminate against gender but many choose not to opt for the public gender testing as the results would be automatically entered into the public registries which everyone would have access. Babies who were Omegas would be automatically registered at the Omega Register, not accessible to the public. Once registered at the Omega Protection Association, almost every aspect of the Omega's life would be supervised from birth to death. And upon presentation, the Omega's potential mate would be chosen by the Omega Protection Association based on genetic compatibility. Although the Omega Protection Association declared that the Omegas would be free to reject the chosen mate, there were dark allegations that the Omega Protection Association that the Omegas were forced into bonding with Alphas especially if the Alphas came from a powerful or rich background.

Many parents chose to go for private testing as they did not want to make public if their precious baby turned out to be a Beta rather than the Alpha they wanted. Despite the laws against gender discrimination, schools and companies were known to screen the potential candidate at the public gender registries. Both Sherrinford and Mycroft's gender were tested at an exclusive private laboratory known for its discretion which also provided Alpha or Omega Purity Index testing if the baby was an Alpha or Omega.

Mycroft blinked and rubbed his eyes again and stared at Sherlock's birth certificate.

**Gender: Beta**

"You opted for public testing?" Mycroft asked. "Father would not be pleased." Members from the Noble Families were normally not registered at the public registers. Omegas born in the Noble Families were only registered upon their arranged bonding with a suitable mate from the same social class.

Mycroft was not sure how Father would feel about having a Beta son. There were Betas in the Holmes Family lines but they were normally from the other branches of the family. Sherlock would be the first Beta born in the last hundred years in the main Holmes Family line.

"Don't worry too much. The worst Father could do was to ignore Sherlock. The most important thing is that Sherlock would be safe." A bitter look momentarily flashed through Sherrinford's eyes. "There is no Beta Purity Index score Father could use to compare with others."

Safe. In the event that the Holmes family lost their power base, both Mycroft and Sherrinford would be purged in the guise of various unfortunate accidents. But Sherlock would be safe as it was the unwritten rule that the Betas would be spared from purging.

"Mycroft." Sherrinford lowered himself and looked into Mycroft's eyes. "A person should be proud of what he is irrespective of his gender. It does not matter what Sherlock's gender is. He would be given opportunity to excel and make his own mark in the world. Our baby brother would be loved by us."

Sherrinford then led Mycroft to the hospital's nursery.

"He is so tiny." Mycroft whispered as he looked into the incubator. "When can we take him home?"

"Soon, Mycroft. We would taking baby Sherlock home soon." Sherrinford said.

It was at this precise moment that Mycroft knew that it would be his lifelong duty to protect baby Sherlock.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes**

I am indebted to Ariane DeVere for her Sherlock transcripts. Her transcripts could be found at . Without her transcripts, it would have taken me a lot of time to write this fic as I would need to re-watch Sherlock repeatedly.

As this is an AU, this story does not strictly follow the sequence of events in Sherlock. I added little 'twists' in the actual transcripts so don't blink and skip them. While there would be references to other cases in the subsequent chapters, The Study in Pink is the only Sherlock episode where a lot of passages are lifted.

Oh...one more thing...not proofed read *wink*

* * *

_ "He was abominable...and the most alluring, tortured soul I'd ever met."_  
― Becca Fitzpatrick

It was by chance he met Sherlock and ended up with a flatmate. Dr John Hamish Watson was both bemused and intrigued with the stranger who proceeded to give him a brief history of his life minutes upon meeting him.

"I know you're an Army doctor and you've been invalided home from Afghanistan. I know you have got a brother who is worried about you but you won't go to him for help because you don't approve of him – possibly because he is an alcoholic, more likely because he recently walked out on his wife. And I know that your therapist thinks your limp's psychosomatic – quite correctly, I am afraid."

Before John could open his mouth to say a word at the stranger, an admittedly very attractive stranger now that he had gotten a good look at the stranger, he was given an invitation to be a flatmate.

"The name is Sherlock Holmes and the address is 221B Baker Street. Afternoon." The stranger winked and left the laboratory.

John mentally upgraded the status of the stranger from attractive to beautiful. A beautiful stranger with an unusual name. He raised an eyebrow and looked towards Mike Stamford, his classmate at St. Bartholomew's Hospital during his undergraduate days.

"Yeah. He's always like that. A brilliant man though a bit too dramatic and flighty for a Beta," Mike Stamford said.

Dramatic? Flighty?

* * *

"If you like excitement, take up his offer," Mike Stamford said, a knowing look in his eyes. "After all, you seemed to enjoy running around abroad and getting shot at."

Excitement? Hmmmm…things were looking up. He would love to get better acquainted with Mr Sherlock Holmes to find out what sort of excitement he could offer him.

John returned to his temporary accommodation, a bedsit catered for returning soldiers. He looked across to the table where his laptop was lying. He walked to the table and switched on his laptop. He clicked on Internet Explorer to access the Google website and typed "Sherlock Holmes" into the search box. The first search result was "The Science of Deduction".

Interesting. Beauty and brains do come together.

Sherlock Holmes. Holmes. A common enough surname. John had mentally catalogued Sherlock as posh, possibly from the upper class judging from his accent and the clothes he wore which he had not mistaken probably were from the most exclusive tailors catered for the obscenely rich and powerful. Sherlock's dramatic exit earlier, however, reminded him of someone. A certain someone whom he was not keen to have any contacts with.

With a slight hesitation, John typed "Family tree of Noble Families in United Kingdom". He scrolled down the list and clicked on "Holmes".

**The title of the Holmes Family was held currently by Mycroft Holmes.**

He looked at the Holmes Family Tree.

**Sherrinford Holmes (deceased)**

**Mycroft Holmes**

**William Sherlock Scott Holmes**

So the stranger who offered to share his flat was the younger brother of Mycroft Holmes, the Iceman. While the general population was not aware who truly held the power to the country, the bloody power manoeuvres behind the scenes, John was one of the persons who knew exactly who the puppet masters were. John frowned. A dark flickered across his face. Perhaps he should rethink whether to turn up for the flat viewing. He had once sworn that he would not get involved in the power struggles of the Elites from the Noble Families. But Sherlock was a Beta and he was unlikely to be involved in the power struggles which remained the domain of the Alphas. Well, there was no harm to turn up for the flat viewing. He could always turn the offer down. He refused to acknowledge that the tiny John Alpha wearing a fuzzy jumpers who resided at the back of his mind, was doing cartwheels at the prospect of meeting Sherlock again.

* * *

Located at a prime spot that came with a special deal from the landlady, 221B would be a good place to rent. John looked around the living room and at all the untidy possessions and boxes scattered around it. It looked as though Sherlock had already moved in for some time. The living room was decidedly middleclass and Sherlock looked out of place with the expensive and well cut clothes he wore. Why would he need a flatmate? Even though Sherlock was a Beta, he was still the younger brother of Mycroft Holmes, arguably the most powerful man in England. Money would never be an issue for Sherlock. John was sure he could afford the most exclusive apartment in the most prestigious spot in London.

"You would need to tidy up the place," John said mildly, looking disapprovingly at the mess in the living room.

"Sure," Sherlock muttered and made a half-hearted attempt to tidy the mess, throwing a couple of folders into a box and stacking the books into one haphazard pile which was in danger of collapsing. A thought struck Sherlock and he threw a suspicious look towards John. "I am NEVER wrong but you do not happen to have OCD right?"

"Nope, no OCD. Only PTSD," John replied with a cheerful smile as he settled to a comfortable armchair which he mentally tagged as HIS.

He then noticed a skull at the mantle place, a piece of unusual decoration. And from experience, it was a real human skull and not a fake decorative piece. John lifted his cane and pointed at it.

"That's a skull. A real human skull," John said. "Care to share why is a skull doing at the mantle place? I must say it is a highly unusual decorative item."

"He is my muse. The best sort of friend you can have. Never answers you back and bores you with stupid answers," Sherlock replied as he wondered whether the tiny area he cleared would be sufficient for John's stuff.

As Sherlock continued to make a half-hearted attempt to tidy up the living room, John was enjoying the tantalising view of a fine arse encased in tight trousers that fitted like a glove as Sherlock bent over to pick up a magazine which fell off from the haphazard pile where he piled all the magazines. That delicious arse gave a new definition to 'a room with a view'. The view was the main reason why he accepted the offer to be a flatmate. From where he was sitting, he concluded that the arse in front of him was an Omega-worthy arse which was giving him the urge to fondle and caress it.

Mrs Hudson came out of the kitchen reading the newspapers.

"These horrible suicides. Three exactly the same. I thought that would be right up your street, Sherlock," Mrs Hudson said.

To John's disappointment, Sherlock straightened his back and walked over to the window and watched as a police car pulled outside 221B Baker Street.

"Four," Sherlock said.

He looked down at the police car and a familiar figure got out of the police car.

"There has been a fourth. And there is something different this time," Sherlock mused, hardly containing the excitement in his eyes.

"A fourth?" Mrs Hudson squeaked.

All three occupants heard someone running up the stairs and D.I. Lestrade, the only long-suffering Beta D.I. willing to put up with Sherlock's interference in crime investigation, appeared.

"Where?"

"Brixton, Lauriston Gardens."

"What is new about this one? You would not have come to get me if there wasn't something different."

"You know how they never leave notes?"

Sherlock raised his eyebrows.

"This one did. Will you come?"

Sherlock tried to look aloof and uninterested.

"Not in a police car. I will be right behind you."

"Thank you."

Approximate 30 seconds after Lestrade left 221B Baker Street, Sherlock jumped into the air and clenched his fist triumphantly before twirling around the room happily.

"Brilliant! Yes! Ah, four serial suicides, and now a note! Oh, it's Christmas!" Sherlock exclaimed happily, as his mask of total boredom fell off.

Sherlock picked up his scarf and coat and put them on and looked towards John.

"You are a doctor. In fact you are an Alpha Army doctor."

"Yes"

"Any good?"

"_Very_ good."

"Seen a lot of injuries then. Violent deaths."

"Well, yes."

"Bit of trouble too I bet."

"Of course. Yes. Enough for a lifetime. Far too much."

"Want to see some more?"

"Oh God, yes."

John followed Sherlock out of the room and down the stairs.

"Both of you are going?"

Sherlock hugged and kissed Mrs Hudson on the cheek.

"Possible suicides? Four of them? There is no point sitting at home when there is something _fun _going on!"

"Look at you, all happy. It is not decent."

"Who cares about decent? The game, Mrs Hudson, is on!"

John smiled as he followed the excited Sherlock out of the house. The game is on indeed. A game he planned to play with Mr Sherlock Holmes.

* * *

Greg Lestrade stared at the shorter man standing beside Sherlock. When asked about the identity of the stranger, Sherlock muttered cryptically 'he's with me". Throughout the years working with the self-styled "consulting detective", Sherlock never had a companion with him at the crime scene. Especially, if he had not mistaken, this 'he's-with-me' companion was an Alpha. What made this 'he's-with-me' companion so special?

John knew that people were staring at him. From the Sergeant and Forensic Technician outside the house to the DI whom he had seen earlier at the Baker Street flat. But he was too enthralled watching Sherlock moving around the dead body in the middle of the floor. Sherlock was obviously in his element. Like a dancer, he moved about gracefully as he examined the crime scene. He kneeled and bent over the dead body looking at it intently. Then very slowly, he stretched his back, almost sensuously, his eyes closed, took a few long, deep breathes.

Beta was scentless, unremarkable in live and death. For Alphas, their scent disappeared the moment they died, their body chemical would break down the scent glands almost simultaneously, leaving them scentless, like the Betas they looked down. In death, both Alphas and Betas were equal. Scentless. But for Omegas, the natural scent which made them so tantalising in life, turned to something more pensive. A devastating sense of loss. It was a smell of an Omega's death. Although irresistible in life, nobody wanted to be near a dead Omega. It was said that the scent of a dead Omega would scar one's soul. Even in death, Omega would still haunt the living.

His knees on the floor, Sherlock bent over the dead Omega body and almost reverently, Sherlock stared at it intently. All of a sudden, Sherlock straightened up, arched his back and started to breathe deeply.

**IN….OUT….**

**IN….OUT….**

Oh Jesus, the scene in front of him was bordering on...indecency but John did not have the will to look way. There was something intimate and almost...erotic about it, forcing the other occupants in the room to be unwilling voyeurs. Sherlock was on a high...as if he was alone and on the verge of orgasm as he breathed in and out deeply. Tiny sounds escaped from Sherlock's mouth and John's cock hardened uncomfortably and as he felt the rush of hot blood to his cock. Dark desires, unbidden, rose suddenly and John's Alpha mind started to whisper...MATE...CONQUER...RAVISH... It was as though he was back in the battlefields in Afghanistan, his mind clouded with bloodlust. The bewitching creature in front of him was prey...he wanted to mark it... to see blood on the pale skin...

John found himself breathing in tandem with Sherlock. At the back of his mind, he noted that DI Lestrade, who had blocked off access to the room where the dead body was found, had refused to look at Sherlock ever since Sherlock started to examine the crime scene, clearly uncomfortable as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. With a grunt, John cleared his mind of the thoughts what his Alpha mind commanded him to do. Jesus, what was he thinking? It had been a long time since his libido went out of control as a hot-headed 18 year old Alpha when he fucked his first and only Omega female, a remarkable lady who carved a niche in the world for herself despite her gender. Perhaps it had been far too long since he last fucked that he got hard at a crime scene with a dead body.

Sherlock lowered his head and opened his eyes, looking at John from under his eyes and long eye lashes, his eyes seemingly landed on the hard budge in front of John's trousers. A small secret smile tugged at the corner of Sherlock's mouth. He then raised his head and stared directly into John's eyes, challenging the Alpha's authority.

"Re-mar-kable," Sherlock drawled his words slowly, breaking the spell which momentarily called upon John's Alpha's instincts to pounce on the enticing creature in front of him and rut. "Dr Watson, what do you think?"

"Of the body?" John asked, proud that his voice remained steady as he moved towards Sherlock. He lowered himself to one knee, close to Sherlock. He stole a glace at Sherlock's neck and had the irrational need to sniff it, even though as a Beta, Sherlock would be scentless. John ignored his innate Alpha instincts and examined the body in front of him."Asphyxiation, probably. Passed out, choked on her own vomit. Can't smell any alcohol on her. It could have been a seizure, possibly drugs."

"Victim is in her late thirties. Rich, going by her clothes although she seemed to have an alarming fetish with pink. Pink clothes. Pink shoes. Travelled from Cardiff today, intending to stay in one night. It's obvious from the size of her suitcase. Could you smell anything on her, Dr Watson? Other than the Omega scent of course," Sherlock asked, transforming from the alluring creature he was earlier to a professional consultant, calm, logical and devoid of all emotions.

"Suitcase?" Lestrade asked as he listened carefully to Sherlock's analysis. "What suitcase?"

John bent down and sniffed. No Alpha scent. The scientists had tried but no one had managed to develop a scent suppressant which would block the pheromones of an Alpha. The Alpha pheromone was a biological imperative to attract the Omega and it had proved to be resistant to all human's attempt to suppress. If the killer was an Alpha, his pheromones would still be on the victim for at least one day. Since the victim died only a few hours ago, it was unlikely that murderer was an Alpha.

"Only the victim's scent. I could not smell any Alpha pheromones on the victim or in this room," John said. "Perhaps the killer is a Beta or possibly an Omega who has injected the Beta serum."

"Of course, the killer is a Beta. The killer is clever. Logical. Calm. A mere Alpha would not be able to devise such a diabolical plan. The Alphas can only think with their lower part of the body. No aptitude for being a serial killer which actually required brain cells to plan that Alphas plainly lacked. A DNA defect, I am afraid," Sherlock sniffed disdainfully. He then added grudgingly, "The perpetuator could also be an Omega injected with the Beta serum. Omegas are more likely to be involved in a crime of passion. But there is always a first in everything." Sherlock brightened momentarily at the thought of an Omega serial killer. It was his professional opinion that Jack the Ripper was an Omega although it could never be proven since the killer died two hundred years ago. Perhaps the killer could be the first modern day Omega serial killer?

'What SUITCASE? "Lestrade asked again, trying to hide a smile. It was pure Sherlock. He just had to insult the only Alpha in the room, even though the said Alpha was the first Alpha companion he voluntarily bought to a crime scene. Not to mention that Sherlock as a Beta, actually needed an Alpha to confirm whether there were any Alpha pheromones. As a Beta, Sherlock would not be able to smell it himself, something which must have irritated him no end. All the Alphas in New Scotland Yard had refused to work with Sherlock since Sherlock had insulted every one of them.

"Judging from the age and state of the wedding ring, the victim has been married at least ten years, but not happily. The rest of her jewellery has been regularly cleaned, but not her wedding ring. State of her marriage right there. The inside of the ring is shinier than the outside – that means it's regularly removed. The only polishing it gets is when she works it off her finger. It's not for work; look at her nails. She doesn't work with her hands, so what or rather who _does_ she removes her rings for? Clearly not _one_ lover; she'd never sustain the fiction of being single over that amount of time, so more likely a string of them but none of them knew she was married," Sherlock ignored Lestrade's question and continued with his deduction. In the past it would be unheard of Omegas having any extramarital affairs after bonding. With the Omega Liberation Movement, a lot of things had changed, including Omega's attitude towards sex.

"That's brilliant!" John said admiringly, even though he was one of the Alphas whom Sherlock had insulted earlier.

Sherlock looked momentarily shocked and then nodded approvingly at the compliment as his due.

It reminded John of a cat his mother used to own. A proud creature that made it clear to everyone that it was the centre of the universe and all the lowly creatures shall bow and worship it. He wanted to pet and kick the cat simultaneously.

"I hate to interrupt. But what suitcase?" Lestrade asked for the third time, almost shouting. "How'd you know she had a BLOODY SUITCASE?" He blamed his rapidly greying hair on Sherlock. All those cryptic deductions before revealing them and making everyone around looked stupid had tempted more than one officer into punching Sherlock.

"Back of the right leg. Tiny splash marks on the heel and calf, not present on the left. She was dragging a wheeled suitcase behind her with her right hand. Don't get the splash pattern any other way. Smallish case, going by the spread," Sherlock pointed down to the victim where her tights had small black splotches on the lower part of her leg. "Surely even you could see that, Lestrade."

"There wasn't a case."

Sherlock whipped around and stared at Lestrade.

"Say that again."

"There wasn't a case. There was never any suitcase."

"Ah, a mistake finally! The killer must have driven her here and forgot the case was in the car," Sherlock said as he made his way down the stairs to the front door and disappeared without another backward glance.

Forgotten and ignored by all the police officers who now moved into the room which contained the murdered victim, John slowly made his way down the stairs and walked out of the building. Looking around, he could see no signs of Sherlock. He walked towards the police tape and Sgt Donovan which he met earlier saw him.

"Freak is gone," Donavan said.

'Who? Sherlock Holmes?"

"Yeah, he just took off. He does that all the time."

"Is he coming back?"

"Right," John said, unsure what to do next. Perhaps he should find a cab to take him back to Baker Street.

"Who are you? You are the freak's…" Donovan saw the disapproving look on John's face who exerted his Alpha Dominance slightly and amended her words quickly, "Sherlock's friend? No. You are not his friend. He doesn't have friends. So who are you?"

"I'm….I'm nobody. I just met him," John said, he would love to know about the alluring creature and be more than Sherlock's 'friend'.

"Okay, a bit of advice then. Stay AWAY from that guy."

"Why?"

"You know why he's here? He's not paid or anything. He likes it. He gets off on it. The weirder the crime, especially it involves Omega murder victim, the more he gets off. You know, we had a bet earlier when you arrived here with that freak…I mean Sherlock."

"A bet?"

"Yeah, a bet to see how long you would last before you would be beaten and thrown out."

"Really, why?"

"Nobody wants to near to an Omega murder victim," Donavan said, waving her hands, "you know, it makes anyone feel….uncomfortable…..like you lost someone important even though you might not even know the victim," Donovan said. Leaning closer to John, she whispered. "Did you see how Sherlock acts around the victim? The way he would sniff at the victim and looked as though he was on a high, like having an orgasm? It is…obscene."

Oh yes, John certainly remembered how sensuous Sherlock looked. He almost pounced on him.

"Look around you. Did you not notice that we have no Alpha police officers here? Lestrade would not allow any Alpha officers at a crime scene where he wanted Sherlock's presence. The last time we had an Alpha officer here, he attacked Sherlock when Sherlock did that sniffing thing." Sgt Sally Donovan looked earnestly at John. "He plays a dangerous game. He knows what buttons to press and he thrives on it. Flaunting it. He is even affecting the Beta officers…and we don't really succumb to this type of…desires," Donavan said, a mix of dark desire and loathing on her face. "Lestrade is the only one I know not affected by him. But you know what? The freak...I mean Sherlock... is playing with fire. One day showing up won't be enough. One day we'll be standing around a body Sherlock Holmes will be the one that put it there. If there is a serial killer of Omegas, he would be my number one suspect on the list. He gets off being around dead Omegas."

'Why would he do that?"

"Because he is a psychopath. And psychopaths get bored."

"Donovan!" Lestrade called from the entrance to the house.

"Stay away from him," Donovan whispered urgently. "If he is not the one doing all those serial Omega murders one day, he would be the one murdered. He is a Beta. But he drives all of us crazy. He is capable of calling out the dark desires hidden in us, doing violent, nasty things to him that would make him dead. He knows it and he is constantly tempting the people around him. That Alpha police officer who assaulted him would have raped and killed him that day. If you stay around him, one day, you would be tempted and you would be the one killing him."

John stared after Sgt Donovan who turned her back and walked towards the house. A small dark smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Sherlock. Something inside him stirred, the primitive and vicious side that he had kept in check in the civilised world. Prey….the Alpha inside his mind whispered.


End file.
